This season, Milan Men’s Fashion Week softened its stance. Across collections from ZEGNA, Giorgio Armani, Brioni, and Tod’s, silhouettes widened and structures relaxed, signaling a shift toward clothing designed to move with the wearer rather than define them. Material interplay took center stage—cashmere, leather, tweed, and technical blends catching light and shadow with quiet intention. Luxury, here, felt less performative and more lived-in, shaped by moments spent with friends, journeys through nature, and wardrobes built over time. It was a season that favored ease over excess, heritage over nostalgia, and a refined sense of individuality grounded in experience rather than trend.
ISAIA: Coed at “Portrait Milano”
Courtesy of ISAIA.
Courtesy of ISAIA.
Staged within the corridors of Circolo Filologico, Damiano Biella’s coed presentation for ISAIA unfolded as a study in transition—both literal and conceptual. The narrow passageway became a runway, framing identity as something fluid, in motion, and momentarily unanchored. As the show notes suggested, the corridor is a place of in-between states, and Biella leaned into that tension with confidence.
Outerwear anchored the collection, led by a varsity bomber reimagined in double cashmere and quilted constructions, including a standout alpaca version trimmed with nappa leather. Rather than emphasizing technical durability, Biella favored tactility and ease, offering suede, mink, and supple leather finishes that invited touch. Knitwear followed suit—lightweight yet insulating—proving warmth need not rely on bulk. The deconstructed “Lucio” jacket emerged as a focal point, joined by a Donegal herringbone cashmere coat and cap that subtly nodded to heritage while pushing it forward.
Traditional Italian tailoring was deliberately disrupted: proportions loosened, volumes expanded, and the house’s once-signature slim fits gave way to relaxed silhouettes. The women’s line introduced sharper structure and bold red-and-camel pairings, with menswear trouser suits reworked for the female form. Accessories completed the narrative, from calfskin and nubuck travel bags to the debut of the “Claudia,” a refined top-handle bag designed for movement.
Giorgio Armani: Light in Transition at Milan Men’s Fashion Week
Courtesy of Giorgio Armani.
Courtesy of Giorgio Armani.
This season marked a quiet but significant turning point for Giorgio Armani, as Leo Dell’Orco presented his first collection for the house following the passing of its founder. After four decades working alongside Armani, Dell’Orco stepped into the role with restraint rather than reinvention, signaling a new chapter shaped by continuity, sensitivity, and confidence.
Titled “Cangiante,” the collection referenced the Renaissance painting technique used to convey light and shadow through shifting tones—an idea translated here with measured precision. At its core was a palette of greys, beiges, blacks, and blues, subtly interrupted by olive green, amethyst, and lapis. These hues came alive through materials chosen for their ability to reflect and absorb light: velvet, crepe, chenille, cashmere, felted wool, and matte leather.
Silhouettes remained fluid and unfussy—blousons, low-buttoned jackets, enveloping coats, shirts, and wide trousers—designed to move with the body rather than constrain it. As models walked, fabrics caught the light in gentle flashes, producing an understated iridescence that felt both modern and deeply Italian. Traditional winter weight gave way to softness and motion. A geometric jacquard cardigan, created in collaboration with Alanui and offered for both men and women, emerged as a quiet standout. Throughout, “Cangiante” balanced shine and restraint, reminding us that elegance can still invite experimentation through texture and light.
Tod’s: “The Italian Touch”
Courtesy of Tod’s.
Courtesy of Tod’s.
Tod’s presented its Milan Men’s Fashion Week collection through The Italian Touch, a short film set at Milan’s Villa Necchi Campiglio. Eschewing a traditional runway, the house staged an intimate gathering of actual friends around a table, offering a quietly observed portrait of Italian life rooted in ease, sincerity, and connection. The scene unfolded naturally, emphasizing spontaneity and normalcy rather than performance.
That philosophy carried into the collection itself. Leather served as the unifying thread, led by Pashmy—a signature material developed through Tod’s research and selection process, prized for its exceptional softness and lightness, reminiscent of pashmina. It appeared across Coach Jackets and Castello Jackets, outerwear designed for everyday movement rather than display.
At the center of the season was the Winter Gommino, Tod’s iconic ankle boot and a perennial symbol of the house. Offered in suede and leather, its proportions and sole referenced Tod’s origins, underscoring the idea that a truly excellent product transcends fashion cycles. Suede versions lined with cashmere or shearling spoke to colder, alpine settings, while black and brown leather styles anchored urban wardrobes. Denim, ochre jackets, and leather coats rounded out the offering, grounded by neutral accessories that reinforced Tod’s understated approach—where craftsmanship, longevity, and lived experience define luxury.
ZEGNA: An Intimate Time and Tested
Courtesy of ZEGNA.
Courtesy of ZEGNA.
ZEGNA opened the season with “A Family Closet,” transforming the runway into an intimate archive—one that reflects how clothing is stored, inherited, and slowly absorbed into identity. The imagined closet was filled with real garments belonging to Gildo Zegna and Paolo Zegna, members of the third generation of the Zegna family, alongside pieces passed down from earlier generations. At its center stood a glass display preserving ‘ABITO N.1,” the first suit crafted for Count Ermenegildo Zegna in the 1930s, grounding the presentation in both history and continuity.
For the collection, Alessandro Sartori softened structure and expanded proportion. Coats and jackets were elongated and loosened, with square shoulders and generous volumes that suggested ease rather than authority. Leather appeared as a subtle accent—lining blazer collars, shaping gilets, and grounding bombers—while accessories recalled the practical poetry of a lived-in wardrobe: suede and nubuck slippers, wool-felt moccasins, square glasses, and felt-lined leather rain hats.
The palette unfolded in layered, organic tones. Charcoal grey and washed black anchored the collection, offset by soft beige, pale yellow, muted green, warm brown, deep burgundy, and forest green. Textures worked in dialogue—felted wools, supple leathers, and matte finishes added depth and visual interest to each look.
“As our outer, chosen skin, clothes are the pages of a diary we write throughout our whole existence.”
Alessandro Sartori
Brioni: An Italian Grand Tour
Courtesy of Brioni.
Courtesy of Brioni.
For Milan Men’s Fashion Week, Brioni imagines an Italian “grand tour,” tracing a journey through landscapes and mindsets closely tied to the Maison. Rather than literal destinations, each stop becomes an attitude—shaping a 24/7 wardrobe designed to move seamlessly from boardroom to evening, and even into the mountains, with an undercurrent of romanticism throughout. As ever, Brioni refreshes its core values, reasserting heritage, precision, and lightness through contemporary cuts and signature double fabrics.
Formal and informal elements interlace rather than compete. Tailoring softens into leisure, while performance pieces retain elegance, reinforcing a vision of modern power dressing defined by ease and understatement. Materials—including cashmere, wool, silk, and cotton—emphasize fluidity and comfort without sacrificing structure. The palette draws from Rome’s warm stone and sunset tones, punctuated by deep purples, muted pinks, rich greens, burgundy, and dark blue. Greys—from soft smoke to sharper metallic notes—introduce an urban, architectural rigor. The result is a wardrobe grounded in versatility, where refinement is quiet, confidence is innate, and style unfolds naturally across moments and settings.
Brunello Cucinelli: ‘Ars Imitatur Naturam’
Courtesy of Brunello Cucinelli.
Courtesy of Brunello Cucinelli.
For Milan Men’s Fashion Week, Brunello Cucinelli turned away from the city and toward nature, framing the collection as a dialogue between humankind and the landscape. Titled “Ars Imitatur Naturam”—the collection framed the contemporary explorer as someone guided by balance, intention, and harmony rather than spectacle.
The palette unfolded in medium to dark neutrals, layered with deeper, more saturated hues that lent depth without excess. Heritage textiles—classic weaves, tweeds, and Donegal—anchored the collection, reinterpreted through lighter weights, nuanced colorations, and mixed fibers. Shearling and suede details reinforced the outdoor spirit, while knitwear introduced warmth through irregular textures and a rustic sensibility.
Tailoring remained central but softened in approach. Blazers were structured through the shoulders while maintaining fluid lines, often paired with relaxed, garment-dyed trousers featuring cargo or utility pockets. A tie frequently anchored these looks, creating Cucinelli’s signature tension between formality and ease. Outerwear elevated function through subtle refinement: discreet metal buttons, considered finishes, and newly developed fabrics with a quiet technical sensibility. All-over patterns inspired by English tradition tied the season together, suggesting a wardrobe designed to move beyond the confines of the city—measured, comfortable, and quietly elegant.
Courtesy of Giorgio Armani. Photography by Stefano Guindani Photo.
